Happiest Place/Race on Earth

Ben and I had a fun filled mini-vacation in Southern California. The two big highlights were running the Disneyland 1/2 marathon and then of course, going to Disneyland and running from ride to ride.

This is the 2nd year I've done the race, and the first for both Ben and my aunt Darla. We got up at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning to join around 15,000 other runners and walkers. The course starts in Downtown Disney, goes through both the California Adventure and Disneyland, through the streets of Anaheim, around the baseball park, back through the Cali Adv. and finishes in Downtown Disney. Overall, it's a lot of fun.

However, there are moments during the race when you mentally question yourself on what you're doing mile after mile and then, for me at least, a moment around mile 10 when your left knee starts to question what you're doing. I have never in my life had a knee pain like this, the kind that shoots up to your hip. Ben was great. He ran a solid race, felt good the whole time and was a wonderful motivator. When my knee said no more, he reminded me we were almost there...just a few more miles.

The last mile for me is always one of the toughest. You know you're almost done...that it's almost over...but the steam just isn't there sometimes. What will make you crank it up a little bit is looking at your watch and realizing you are so close to one of your goals.

Goal #1: Finish

Goal #2: If possible, beat last year's time.

Goal #1 wasn't a problem, but I wanted #2 also, so I dug deep and Ben and I cruised the last 1/2 mile. Finishing time? 6 seconds faster than last year. (I'll take it).

We cheered other runners on until we saw aunt Darla powering through to get her medal. If you've never met her, she is truly amazing. Once she says she'll do something, she goes in full speed ahead and never looks back. Last year she told Ben that if he ran the race with me, she would do it too...and there she was...kicking 13.1 miles worth of ass and taking names.

We had a great weekend and earned every trip on Space Mountain.

4:30 a.m...early but excited

All done!